Water purifier



E. J. BROCK WATER PURIFIER March 3, 1931.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 22, 1926 fiiiorney woawoo o 0 o 0 0 March 3, 1931. E. J. BROCK WATER PURIFIER Filed May 22, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fmreniors- Hu/ar'd fir'ocf @M a, W

Patented Mar. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES EN OF WATER romaine V g V V I p I v I 9 2 EDWARD'J. .BROGK, OF ST. LOUIS, .MIS SOURI Application filed May 22,

This invention relates to water purifiers such as used in conjunction with boilers for mechanically removing sediment and impurities in the feed 'waterbefore introducing it 5 into the boiler. While features of the invention may beapplied to steamboilers of differont types, in the present specification, I have described the invention as applied to a 1000- motive type of boiler.

The general object of the invention is to provide improvedmeans for facilitating the deposit of sediment within the purifier; to provide improved means for removing the sediment; to providemeans for preventing the formation of air poclretswithin the purifier which might interfere with its effective operation; to provide an improved construc- 1 tion and arrangement of mixing chamber for the hot water from the boiler and the cold water admitted to the purifier for treatment; to provide a blow-off inthe purifier dome for removing oil, scum, and the like,fioating on the surface of the water; to provide improved means for trapping the air in the purifier dome and automatically permitting the es cape of the same; to provide a novelcon struc-tion of blow-off pipes located in the 7 bottom of the purifier to insure that the sediment will be discharged from the purifier through the'length of said pipes; to provide aplurality of blow-off pipes arranged to discharge at theirlongitu'dinal centers, Where by the expulsion of sediment from the puriiier is facilitated; and; finally, the employ ment of means for preventing the enlarge ment of the apertures in the blow-on pipes, due to the abrasive action of the sediment passing through the apertures. i

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive type of boiler With. a purifier embodying my invention associated therewith, a portion of the purifier being broken away and shown in longitudinal section; V r v v Figure 2 is a view in end elevation of-the same; V 1 f Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 83 of Figural;

71926. Serial no. 110,9(50.

plan view of the sedichamber Figure 7 illustrates a modified construction in which the air trapped in the dome of the purifier passes directly to the :steam dome of the boiler; and, p p

Figure 8 shows a section in side elevation of one of the blow-oiipipes having nipples secured in the apertures to prevent enlargement' of the latter. v

Referring. more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a boiler which may be of a locomotive type, alongside of which my purifier 2 is mounted. This purifier consists of an elongated shell, the longitudinal axis ofwhichis supported in a substantially horizontal posi tion below the water level of the boiler. The righthand end of the purifier is the. inlet end and receives water from the boiler through a connection 3 (Figure 6) and coupling 4, through which latter extends a feed water pipe 5. The coupling l is provided on the side. adj a'cent'the connection 3-with a flange 6 Figure 6) and is preferablyconnected to the conwithan opening 13 in the topaof the purifier 2. The lower. side of the; throat 12 extending from the end of the connection 3 to the opening in the casting '11 is curved, as indicated at 14;, which construction permits of the easy flow of the water from theboiler to thepurifier without an abrupt change in its course, thus reducing the-friction.= The feed water pipe 5 extends to near the lower end of the throat 12, but

terminates within the throat, so that as the cold feed water'is discharged from the lower end of this pipe, it tends to produce a siphon effect and to withdraw the hot water from the boiler and thus promote the circulation of the same with the cold water through the purifier. The throat 12 also afiords a mixing chamber for the hot and cold water. This arrangement alsov avoids an objection incident to certain prior constructions in that in the latter, the outlet passage to the purifier 2 would very= frequently become clogged by deposits from the water entering through the pipe 5. In the construction described and shown in Figure 6, a free passage of relatively large diameter is provided for thepassage of the water into the shell 2, and this passage will-be automatically kept clean by .the flow of the Water intothe shell. Further, the lower end of the pipe extends to near the opening 13 of theshell. 'This opening is preferably made of considerably#larger diameter than the pipe 5, so that the feed water, which contains most of the-impurities, will tend to pass directly from pipe 5 into the purifier through said opening withoutaffording opportunity for impurities therein'to deposit on the wall of the throat. I I.

The connection 3 to-the boiler should be made over-the crown-sheet,- indicated ;in dotted lines, as this is the point where the greatest heat inthisftype of boiler. is being received by the water within the boiler. The

purifier 2'isv preferably formed in sections, the present constructioninvolvinga central section 15 and two end sections telescoped into the ends of the central section and indicated by the numerals 16 and 17, respectively.

The water passes from the throat 12'down onto a longitudinally inclined batlie 18, which is preferably set at an angle of approiiimately 22,and which prevents the incoming water from a itatin the Water and sediment within the purifier and also causes 'thewater' to have a. longer courseof travel. "On the bottom of the shell of the purifier, I preferably provide two bafiies'or bafiie plates, the-Tone, indicated by the numeral 19, being located toward the feed end of the purifier, and the other, 20, being located centrally ofthe' puri- V fierLThes'e'bafiles tend to prevent orto vinterrupt circulation along the bottom2l"oi the purifier, so that the sediment will accumu late and deposit on said bottom. Inorder to dischargethesediment from the purifier 2, I-provide two or more sediment discharge pipes 22 and 23','respect1vely," the discharge pipe'22 extending from a point-adjacent to thebafiie plate 20 to a point near therighthand end of the purifier, vas shown inFigure 1, and the discharge pipe 23 extending from apoint adjacent the battle plate 201:0 apoint near-the lefthand end of the purifier. Each of thesesednnent discharge pipes 22 and23 f isclosed at its opposite ends by caps-242 and blown out independently if desired.

is provided along its bottom with perforations, later to be referred to. Each of these pipes is preferably formed in two sections connected centrally to a T-coupling 25, and to each of these couplingsis connected an outlet pipe 26 and 27, respectively, which connect at their lower ends to a main blowofi pipe 28. Each of the connections 26 and 27 is provided with its individual valve 29, which enable the two sediment pipes to be This arrangement permits the use of pipes of relatively small size, which are convenient and economical to operate. Moreover, when the section of the purifier on one side of the baffie plate 20 is blown out, this operation does not disturb the sediment in the other part of the purifier.

? On the upper-side of the purifier and projecting downwardly into the interior at preferably an angle of approximately 47, I pro vide a baflle plate30 near the outlet end of the purifier, which operates to retard the circulation alon the upper part of the purifier and to increase the extent of the circulation. Between the bafile plate 20 and the end or head 31'of the purifier, I provide an outlet st'andpipe 32, having its mouth 33 disposed at an elevation within the purifier; that is to say, the mouth 33 is very" close to the upper wall of the purifier, so that substantially only clear soft water will enter this standpipe. The piper32 is vertical and is connected at its lower end to a standard coupling 34, which connects with the end of a pipe 35 leading into the bottom of the boiler, this construction providing a passage through which the treated water is led from the purifier into the boiler, where thewater in the boiler is the coolest.

By reason of the presence and location of the baffle plate 30, an air pocket is formed in which air tends to accumulate in the vicinity of the mouth 33 and to stop the circulation in the purifier when the latter is first filled. In order to prevent this, I provide means for releasing any air which may accumulate at this point. r V

For this purpose, I'provide a by-pass c011- nection 36. I preferto make this connection operate to automatically release air from the vicinity of the mouth 33 to an air, oil and sediment trap 37 which I provide on the upper side of the purifier back of the bafile 30. The by-pass connection 36 is connected to the shell over'thetop of the stand-pipe 32 and communicates with the trap 37 through the side thereof at, a point preferably about midway of its height. The trap 37, due to the high temperature in the purifier, operates to trap any air, oil and sediment moving along the upper side of the shell of the purifier, as

will be understood. In order to providc'for i peaeee tion, a release valve 38 of any suitable construction, pinvidyl with a float 3.9, or any other similar device, which operates to hold the valve closed so long as water is at the proper level in the trap, but permits the valve to open and release the air when the Water level in the trap drops below a predetermined point, due to accumulation of air in the trap.

In Figure 7, I show another means of releasing the air from the trap 37., which con sists in ru-i'i-ning a pipe from the top of said trap to the steam dome ll of the boil-er. In this construction, the air is always free to escape from the trap.

The sediment pipes'22 and 28' are provided, as'previously stated, with perforations, and these are preferably located on the underside only of the pipes and extend throughout their length. i/vhen either or both of the valves 29 are opened, the pressure existing within the water purifier will force the sediment out through the perforations and through their outlet connections 26 and 27; The character of these perforations is indicated in Figure l. These perforations are formedso that they are of a size or diameter which increases in a direction extending away from the outlet connection; in other words, the perforations 42, which are at or near the remote endof the pipe, are of much larger diameter than the perforations 43, which lie acent to the outlet connection. According to this invention, the size of the openings in the pipes 22- and 23 is such that their total area will equal the area of the outlet pipes 26 and 27, allowance being made also for friction. This arrangement insures that the sediment will be discharged substantially equally into all parts of the sediment pipes, as 'itwill be obvious that of the perforations were of the same size,

the majority of the sediment would pass through the openings adjacent the outlet pipes, while practically no sediment would pass through the openings towards theends of the pipe. This objection is overcome by my arrangement, as explained, so that when the valves are open, the sediment is removed from the bottom of the purifier throughout its entire length, as the entire length of each of the sediment pipes isrendered effective for this purpose.

It is not necessary, however, that these perforations should each be of a different size from the others, but it is more convenient in practice to form them in sets of the same diameter, there being one set of smallest diameter,

another set of largest diameter, and an intermed ate'set corresponding to the perforation 44,.which is of an intermediate diameter.

The baffle 19 is provided with an opening 45 (Figure 3) through which the sediment pipe 22 may extend. As shown by Figure 3, this bafile is preferably made in three connected sections and is connected to the sides of the In practice, it is found that most of the sediment accumulates in the inlet end of the purifier, and, therefore, an outlet connection 26 must be opened much more frequently than the outlet connection 27. The baffle plate 20 facilitates the operation of blowing out one end of the purifier, as it tends to prevent the disturbance of the sediment in the opposite end. This baflle, therefore, performs a function in this respect in addition to its other function of tending to facilitate the deposit of sedment in the inlet end of the purifier. The baffle 19 directs the circulation to-the top of the shell and, to a large extent, prevents the sediment in the bottom of the shell from being stirred up and affords, therefore, a quiet zone and ample space in which the impurities may settle out of the water. The baffle 30, of course, prevents the direct flow of the water along the top of the purifier through the outr let '33 of stand-pipe 32, and by directing the circulation downward, tends to cause the impurities, which are heavier than the water, to pass to and settle on the bottom ofthe purifier, so that only relatively pure water will rise and pass intothe mouth 33.

Thesurfaceof the water in the trap 37 will, after a time, be covered with scum, oil and the like, and in order to remove this, I provide a surfaceblow-off, which is illustrated in bottom plan view in Figure 5. This blow-off is in the form of a pipe 48 which, at one end, as shown by Figure 1, is connected to the blowoff pipe 27 below the valve 29, and at its up per end, has a horizontal extension entering the side of the trap 37 near the top thereof, and there bent to substantially encircle th interior of said trap, its outer end being closed by a cap 49. The circular portion of this blow-off pipe within the trap is indicated by the numeral 50' and its underside is provided witha series of aperturesbl, which de crease in diameter, as shown, from the outer end containing the cap 49 to'the entrance point of the pipe 48. The total area of the apertures 51 is made to equal the area of the pipe 48, allowance being made for friction,

and in this way, all of the apertures in the,

This action, of course, occurs whenever to prevent these apertures frombeing enlarged by abr-asion of the sediment passing mentpipes soon become so enlarged that new sediment pipes must be substituted for the old ones at such frequent intervals as to render it quite an item of expense. Further, these nipples extend down to the bottom of the shell .of he purifier, so that more of the sediment is removed therefrom in the blowing out process than when the perforations alone are employed, as it is impracticable to locate the sediment pipes close enough to the bottom to meet this-requirement.

'lhe'purifier, in practice, is setat an incline, so that its outlet end slightly higher than the inlet end in order to facilitate the passage of air along the top of the purifier to the air trap 3'7. The scale of the drawing relative to the actual size 'of the purifier, namely about twenty feet, is very small, and as the inclination is very slight, such inclination wouldscarcely be perceptible to the eye, and no attempt has been made to illustrate. it. I desire to state the fact, how. vergin the interest of'a full disclosure of the invention.

lclaim:

1. In a water purifier to operate in con junction witha boiler, the combination of an elongated shell, a connection including a' feed water pipe at one end of the shell and connecting; wi'h the boiler to introduce a mix ture of boiler water and feed water into the end of the purifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier into the boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated level therein, a baffle plate. in the upper portion of the shell adjacent the said outlet pipe and proiectinq downwardly within the shell, said battle plate being adapted to lengthen the path of circulation of'the water moving toward said outlet pipe, a sediment pipe disposed in the bottom of the shell having perforations along its length to admitthe sediment, and having; an outlet connection through the bottom ofthe shell, a dome extending upward lv fromthe upper side of the shell adjacent the baliie, and operating as a trap in which air from the upper portion of the shell is collected, and an air-release pipe leading out of the upper side of the shell in the end thereof beyond said baffle. 7

2. In a water purifier to operate in. conjunction with a boiler, the combination of an elongated shell, a connection including a. feed water pipe at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introduce a mixture of boiler water and feed water into the end of the purifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier into the boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated level therein, a battle plate in the upper portion of the shell adjacent the said outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within the shell, said bafiie plate being adapted to lengthen the path of circulation of the water moving toward said outlet pipe, a sediment pipe clisposed in the bottom of the shell having perforations along its length to admit the sediment, and having an outlet connection through the bottom of the shell, a dome extending upwardly from the upper side of the shell adiacent the bailie, and operating as a trap in which air from the upper portion of the shell is collected, and an air-release pipe leading out of the upper side of the shell in the end thereof beyond said baffle, and at a point immediately over the inlet mouth of said outlet pipe.

7 3. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having an, inlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and an outlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, said shell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantially horizontal position, an airdome adjacent one end of said shell on the upper side thereof, a baffle extending down from the upper side of the shell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a pipe connection through the upper side of the shell between the baiiie and the end of the shell and leading into the air-dome, said last named connection operating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the air-dome, and means whereby said air-dome may be evacuated.

4. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having an inlet connection for boil-er water and'feed water at one end, and an outlet connection to, the boiler at the other end of the shell, said shell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantially horizontal position, an air-dome adjacent one end of said shell on the upper side thereof, a baflie extending down from the upper side of the shell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a pipe connection through the upper side of the shell. between the bathe and the end of the shell and leading into the air-dome, said last named connection operating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the air-dome,va sediment blow-off pipe communicating with the interior of the purifier, a surface blow-off located in said dome and having a valvecontrolled pipe communicating with said sediment blow-off pipe, and means whereby said air-dome may be evacuated,

5. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having an inlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and an outlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, said shell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantially horizontal position, an air-dome adjacent one end of said shell on the upper side thereof, a baflie extending down from the upperside of the shell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a pipe connection through the upper side of the shell between the battle and the end of the shell and leading into the air-dome, said. last named Connection operating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the air-dome, a sediment blow-off pipe communicating with the interior of the purifier, a surface blow-oil located in said dome and having a valve-controlled pipe communicating with said sediment blowoff pipe, said surface blow-oil comprising a curved pipe having a closed end and provided on its underside with perforations of progressively increased size in a direction toward said closed end, and the total area of said perforations equalling the area of said valve-controlled pipe, plus allowance for friction and means whereby said air-dome may be evacuated.

6. In a water purifier, the combinationof an elongated shell having an inlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and an outlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, said shell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantially horizontal position, an airdome adjacent one end of said shell on the upper side thereof, a bafiie extending down from the upper side of the shell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a-pipe connection through the upper side of the shell between the baflie and the end of the shell and leading into the air-dome, said last named connection operating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the air-dome, and a float-controlled release valve mounted in the top of said dome.

7. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, the combination of an elongated shell, a connection, including a feed water pipe, at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introduce a mixture of bOiler water and feed water into the end of the purifier, a bafile plate connected to the upper portion of the shell adjacent said enddirectly under the outlet from said connection to thecpurifier and directed downwardly and toward the said end, a bafile plate in the lower portion of said shell adjacent saidend and directed upwardly and toward the other end of the purifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the puri fier into the boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated level therein, a baflie plate in the upper por tion of the shell adj aoent the said outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within. the shell, the last mentioned baffle plate being adapted to lengthen the .path of circulation of the Water moving toward saidoutletpipe, a sediment pipe disposed in the bottom of the shell having an outlet connectionthrough the shell, and a valve for co-ntrolling'the same.

8, Ina Water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having an-inlet connection for boiler water and feed waterat .one end, and an outlet connection to the boiler at the other vend, and disposed with the longitudinal axis of the shell in a substantially horizontal position, a sediment pipe disposed at the bottom of the shell toward one end of the same, and having an outlet connection through the shell, a second sediment pipe disposed toward the other end of the shell and having an outlet connection through the shell, an individual valve corresponding to each sediment pipe enabling either sediment pipe to be operated independently of the other, a bafiie plate at the outlet end of the shell, another baffle plate on the bottom of the shell at the inlet end thereof, and a third baffle plate at the bottom of the shell disposed between the ends of the sediment pipes.

9. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, the combination of an elongated shell, a connection including a feed water pipe at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introduce a mixture of boiler Water and feed water directly into the end of the purifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier into the boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated level therein, a baffle plate in the upper portion of the shell adjacent thesaid outlet pipe said baflle forming with the end of the shell a pocket inclosing the inlet mouth of said pipe, a sediment pipe disposed in the bottom of the shell having perforations along its length to admit the sediment, said sediment pipe having an outlet connection through the shell and a valve for controlling the same, and means for permitting air to continuously escape from said pocket.

10. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, the combination of an elongated shell, a connection including a feed water pipe at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introduce a mixture of boiler water and feed water directly into the end of the purifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier into the boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated level therein, a battle plate in the upper portion of the shell adjacent the said outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within the shell, said baflle forming with the end of the shell a pocket inclosing the inlet mouth of said 1,05 and projecting downwardly within the shell,

pipe, a sediment pipe disposed in the bottom of the shell adjacent one end thereof, a second sediment pipe disposed in the bottom of the shell toward the other end thereof, each of said sediment pipes having an outlet connection through the shell and a valve for controlling the same, and also having perforations along its length to admit the sediment, and means for permitting air to continuously escape from said pocket.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. EDWARD J. BROGK. 

